"...but I really think the pencil is bad and you should go with a pen. While far more UL, the pencil will, eventually, dull, the nub will wear thin and you will then your tool will be useless."

Wait..are we still talking about pencils?

"I don't understand you kids and your need to carry pencils. In my day, we'd just set a brontosaurus on fire and used his charred remains to draw with."

*Sigh* The brontosaurus' and cavemen of those days at least never stole your condiment packets, water caches and sweet rolls. Condiment packets your life could depend on! In those days a brontosaur would likely as not walk right up to the fire and throw himself in - just to help out!

Nowadays everyone is a pencil thief, and too lazy to char their own dinosaur, or even build their own fire.

Not so sure about the pen, they smear when wet, leaving bear attracting residue everywhere.

Thinking about it, he best plan is to bring a pen for day time use on the trail, but a nice pencil for use during stream crossings.

You don't need a dedicated camp pencil, but the weight is small, and it is a nice luxury to write with a clean instrument after a day of using a trail worn pen. Some people don't mind the filth in camp, but it's the little things that separate us from the animals.

Re: Was all this necessary in the gear section?
on 05/15/2013 16:42:40 MDT

"Was all this necessary in the gear section?"

Well it seemed like a legitimate question to me.

Many people take writing instruments on their trips. Where would our civilization be if Henry David Thoreau, Mark Twain, John Wesley Powell, John Muir, Jack London, Robert Service, Edward Abbey, Colin Fletcher, Chris Townsend, Harvey Butchart and a host of others had left their pencils/pens and paper at home? I dare say that backpacking would not be what it is today; it would be less.

How is a pencil less relevant than the dozens upon dozens of the JMT gear threads I have read here on BPL over the years?

Is a pencil not a piece of gear?

Some other thought provoking threads I have read here regarding the JMT over the years include such questions as...

Do I need a sleeping bag or quilt? Is a quilt better than a sleeping bag? What temperature bag or quilt for doing the JMT in July or August?

Do I need a wind shirt, rain jacket, or poncho? Which is best? GoreTex or eVent?

Do I need a hat? What kind of hat do I need?

Do I need boots? Are running shoes okay? How about Vibram 5 Fingers? Do I need camp shoes? Do I need water crossing shoes?

Do I need trekking poles?

How do I pee and/or poop?

Do I need tent stakes? How do you pound stakes into granite?

Do I need a bear canister? How do I store my food? Where do I get food?

How far can I hike in a day?

How do I even get to the JMT?

What stove? Is Esbit or Alcohol okay?

Do I need underwear? If I do, what kind? Is wool better than synthetic?

Do I need a camera? Which camera is best for the JMT? Should I get a DSLR or a P&S?

Can I hike in shorts? Can I hike in trousers? What shirt should I wear? Do I need sunglasses? What brand sunglasses should I buy? Do I need polarized lenses?

Are there mosquitoes? DEET or headnet? How do you sleep without a fully enclosed tent?

What should I sleep on (foam pad, insulated pad, down pad, air mattress, duft)? What size pad should I sleep on? Do I need a groundsheet? What kind of groundsheet do I need? Where can I buy a groundsheet? Should I use a groundsheet under my tent?

Is cuben better than nylon, xPac, Dymeema, Spectra, Cordura?

Do I need a framed pack? What size pack do I need? Do I need outside pockets on my pack? Who makes the best pack? Who makes the cheapest pack?

Can I fish? Can I go vegan? Can I live off the land and not bring food?

How do I treat water? Which is best; iodine, AquaMira, filter, Steripen? Can I get by without treating water. How do I get water out of a shallow area? What should I carry my water in?

Do I need a knife, or razor blade, or ax, or machete?

How many pounds, or ounces should my first aid kit weigh? What should I carry in my first aid kit? Etc., etc., etc.

Maybe if more hikers took pencils, there would be more How To books, and thus no questions here on how to hike the JMT?

I don't think a pencil is a trivial thing, and having never used one to capture the flavor of my hikes it seemed that Gear would be the logical place to ask my questions.

Re: Re: Was all this necessary in the gear section?
on 05/15/2013 16:52:39 MDT

Nick, head down to the golf course and purchase, beg, borrow, or steal a quantity of short pencils. At home in your workshop, you paint them some distinctive color. Weigh them very carefully, and then put them up for sale here for an affordable price, say $2 each, shipped. Then you offer up a cuben fiber carrying case, and that would be $4 each, shipped. You would need to include a user manual.

But you forgot to mention what kind of shirt I should bring when I hike the JMT...short sleeve or long? Synthetic, wool, button down, rail riders?

You know, when I first found BPL I read a few posts lamenting about how the forums had turned into a cesspool of "which tent should I buy?" and "ULA packs vs Gossamer Gear?" threads. I was a tad put off, because I was that noobie and frankly, those decisions were hard! Now, thanks to the collective wisdom I've mooched from all of you, I find that I am comfortable making my own mistakes - instead of thinking every gear and route choice has to be the absolutely forever perfect one. And now I find myself lamenting that the forums have turned into this cesspool of "which tent is best?" and "MLD Exodus vs the Ohm 2.0?"

I recently joined a JMT Facebook group...then promptly unjoined as every single question was "should I carry a 70L or a 90L pack?" You've all spoiled me so....